Joe Miller: Reporter Followed Me Into Bathroom Before Security Detained Him (VIDEO)

Alaska Senate Republican candidate Joe Miller took to Fox News on Monday to explain why his security detail ended up handcuffing and detaining a reporter at a public town hall on Sunday.

Offering his defense to a favored cable audience, Miller insisted that Tony Hopfinger, the editor of the website Alaska Dispatch, "planned" to badger him with questions going so far as to follow him into the bathroom. The "arrest," Miller added, occurred only after he was off the premises and because Hopfinger had been unruly.

"He asked about the Fairbanks Northstar Borough thing," Miller said, referencing accusations that he used borough equipment in the unsuccessful 2008 attempt to oust state Republican Party Chairman Randy Ruedrich. "I answered one question and he kept at it. So I turned around and I left... And after I left the building, the security team that the contract required us to have arrested him because he pushed one of their individuals. But the reason why this whole thing is curious, I have not told any outlet this before, but at the beginning of this event, the blogger, he actually followed me into the restroom... This guy is kind of getting in your personal space, this is just absolutely crossing the line. But the blog that he worked for has had a history of being quite unfair in its approach to our campaign and so this kind behavior should not be taken as a surprise."

According to Miller, the presence of a private security firm was not his call. The public school demanded that he hire the detail prior to coming to the town hall meeting. As for the notion that detaining a reporter against his will wasn't perhaps the best demonstration of First Amendment rights, Miller re-affirmed his love of the Constitution.

"Well, I have been the most transparent, most successful candidate of the three. That town hall meeting was full of people with questions and we answered them. So, if anybody is going to talk about the First Amendment, we are huge proponents of it and we like to have the free exchange of ideas and that is what happened up until this guy just starting crossing the line and we think it was probably planned, I mean, following the candidate into the restroom. I mean come on..."

It's impossible not to note the media politics at play here. Miller has closed himself off to local reporters asking about anything dealing with his past record. He has declined to partake in a debate Monday night hosted by the Alaska Dispatch (which is not a blog but a for-profit news site). And a security firm that his campaign had contracted handcuffed a reporter on Sunday evening. And yet, Fox New's Neil Cavuto granted him a largely favorable forum to explain away the incident with little evident sympathy for his fellow members of the Fourth Estate.

WATCH:

Comments

[KatieAnnieOakley]

02:57 PM on 10/20/2010

RULING IN MILLER RECORDS SUIT POSSIBLE THIS WEEKEND

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By CHRIS FREIBERG
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Published: October 19th, 2010 04:55 PM
Last Modified: October 19th, 2010 04:56 PM

FAIRBANKS -- A Fairbanks judge is expected to rule this weekend on a lawsuit filed by several Alaska media outlets to obtain more information about Republican U.S. Senate candidate Joe Miller's actions while employed by the Fairbanks North Star Borough.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Recently retired Judge Winston Burbank started a process today that could resolve the case ahead of the Nov. 2 election. Burbank was brought in to hear the case after several sitting judges recused themselves or were disqualified from the case.

The judge has several days to review private documents in Miller's personnel file. Miller acknowledged during a CNN interview Monday that he had been disciplined for violating borough ethics policy. Former borough Mayor Jim Whitaker said Miller was almost fired for his actions, which involved using other employees' computers in 2008. Miller disputed the claim that he was almost fired. He resigned for unrelated reasons the following year.

Burbank will rule on Saturday whether public interest in the borough documents outweighs Miller's right to privacy.

Read more: http://www.adn.com/2010/10/19/1509565/ruling-in-miller-records-suit.html#ixzz12vWI9hd9

[Peacesymbol1]

01:36 PM on 10/20/2010

there are several Tea Party candidates that deserve support, there are a couple that are close to the edge, the country needs change, fiscal austerity will enhance the nations economic woes, now which picks to really put america back where she deserves to be.
If i ran for office and ( supposition only ) won the General there are many changes i would do, most of which defies what the media decries of social norms, review the china dilemna, currency manipulation ? look what they are doing today check for yourself what the gdp has been, growth still almost unchecked, do we want this same growth ? to restore our stature in the world as the leader ? education !! america needs to embrace the future our children are not getting enough of the right points to enhance our lifestyle for the future, yes there are several Tea Party Candidates that deserve our support.

[NealeA]

12:32 AM on 10/20/2010

Private security guards can't handcuff people. If I were Hopfinger I'd get a lawyer and sue the begesus out of them.

[Len Unbias]

06:17 PM on 10/19/2010

Bullying a Reporter is NOTHING compared to an active States Attorney from Maryland, convicted of Gang Rape, Featured on ABC 20/20 for covering it up on Election Day..and seeking to extend his office for another four Years on 11/2/10. After being in office for 12 years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1wtYPwhbfE

[Algonquin]

04:30 PM on 10/19/2010

"And then he followed me right into the stall next to mine. I dropped my speech on the floor, and bent over to pick it up, and that's when my foot must have crossed over into his stall just a little. I've got a wide stance, you know."

[SENCvoter]

03:43 PM on 10/19/2010

Miller received public assistance when he was starting his career as a lawyer. Despite his $70,000 salary, he received low-income hunting and fishing license rate. He also had his children on Denali KidCare, government health insurance for low-income children and women. Now he says government is bad. It's not bad if he receives help. It's bad if others do.

[Greg Petty]

04:07 PM on 10/19/2010

He is a habitual liar,like Palin,O,Donnell , Angle,Rand, politics is a contact human to human interaction, These baggers are scared little rabbits, How could anyone think they could formulate or understand any laws, or the big one,THE CONSTITUTION

[CincinnatiSEO]

03:40 PM on 10/19/2010

It is a daunting threshold that has been crossed here; private security guards arresting reporters on public property because they are asking questions of the people who could lead our Nation.

Hey Joe Miller. We will ask you questions repeatedly and doggedly, our lives and our children's lives could be in your hands. How dare you! I abhor the audacity, and the double speak that comes out of our politicians mouths; while you tout free speech and the constitution, you go and have reporters arrested for asking questions on behalf of the American people.

This kind of act is becoming the Right Wing M.O. (see http://www.aclu.org/free-speech/secret-service-and-white-house-charged-violating-free-speech-rights-aclu-lawsuit ) While this occurred on private property I believe it is still wrong and the Bush administration should be ashamed they had to steep so low to run a country into the ground.

Thank you.
Mark Stegman
http://www.seoohio.net/

[hellinahandcart]

07:06 PM on 10/19/2010

It is indeed a daunting threshold that has been crossed. I sincerely believe this man is dangerous.
You can see it in his face, in his eyes, in his demeanor, and hear it in his constant pathological lying.

[NormalGuy1]

03:30 PM on 10/19/2010

Joe, maybe if you ANSWER QUESTIONS at a press conference, the press wouldnt have to follow you around. You want your cake and you want to eat it too and then you want to smush it in everyone's faces that disagrees with you.

[NormalGuy1]

03:27 PM on 10/19/2010

Dude, you are running for PUBLIC OFFICE. You are fair game when you are in PUBLIC. That includes Public Bathrooms. Try and wrap your head around this concept.

[abbadabba]

02:52 PM on 10/19/2010

If Joe found that reporter intimidating, he hasn't seen Todd shoving his cell phone in an old man's face demanding thrice, "Why are you shoving a cell phone in my wife's face? (Repeat, repeat.)"

The man had not, stood at a distance and just watched the Palin circus roll through the Anchorage Airport where he was dropping off his wife and captured their nature with his cell phone. I'd have camed it, if I was that close to a UFO. Is Todd part of Miller's security force?

"Why are you shaking? (Repeat, repeart.) Well, Todd, it isn't every day you get to see Wild Like Todd's Alaska.

[sals]

02:22 PM on 10/19/2010

Well, why didn't Miller say that the reporter followed him into the restroom at first? Because he said that the reporter followed him down the hall (don't they all), then to the door as he was leaving, then said that he only heard about it after he had left the school......and then later to add to his story, he said he never mentioned it before but the reporter had followed him into the restroom, before the event,.....now he thinks of that.....it is an added insult to make the reporter look worse.....Joe lies, and he cheats, he can't be trusted.

Alaska....I had rather the majority vote for McAdams, the guy with with most positive character, but then at least , for Lisa. We know she is republican but at least, she doesn't do what Miller does.

This guy is a snake. If Miller gets elected, Alaska won't see him much, he will always be trying to move up and leaving alaska behind.

[Sinister Minister]

01:46 PM on 10/19/2010

And we thought Bush's Free Speech Zones sucked.

[Sinister Minister]

01:45 PM on 10/19/2010

Well Joe when you refused his questions out in the hall, maybe he followed you into the toilet because he knew from past history that some Republicans like to carry out their business in a men's room.

[Marnie1]

01:39 PM on 10/19/2010

If Joe the Jerk was off premises when the false arrest occurred then why were his skin head goons confronting reporters who could no longer access him, since he had left the building?

Sounds a lot like the skin head goons harassing and trying to intimidate the reporter, just for the fun of being threatening and getting in his space.
And then laying hands on him violently enough to hand cuff him.

If Miller answered questions in public the press wouldn't follow them into the bathroom.
if the bathroom is a public bathroom in a public building, and did not have a "Restricted to Joe the Jerk, By police order" sign on it, the reporter had a perfect right to enter the bathroom and enter into conversation.

[Totto]

01:35 PM on 10/19/2010

Is it so tiny, and you're embarrassed, Joe?